By Dan Brewer 

People often think of factors like demographics, occupancy rates, and rent growth when considering an investment in senior housing. One thing they may not consider:  the operator’s long-term recruitment strategy. However, in today’s market, the success of any senior living community will rely heavily on an operator’s ability to attract and retain quality talent. And judging by market statistics, that task will not be easy.

Front-line caregivers play an important role in the care of residents at assisted living communities and nursing homes. They’re the ones providing day-to-day care and socializing with residents on a personal basis. Statistics show, however, that caregiver roles are increasingly hard to fill and maintain. Research from LeadingAge shows the average annual turnover at senior living communities is nearly 45 percent. That’s 3x the national average of about 15 percent across all industries (2016). Those stats offer a clear challenge—one that will only keep growing. By 2020, it’s anticipated we will need another 1.2 million people to support the growing number of aging likely to fill senior living communities. Thus, for an investment in senior housing to be successful, the issue of recruitment will also need to be successfully managed.

The following are a few thoughts to consider when making an investment in senior housing: [Read more…]

By Alex Tate

If I Don’t Report Medicare Will Ding Me?

Last year Medicare implemented the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). MIPS is a risk and an opportunity to add to your income.  You should, at least know what is going to happen to your Medicare payments.

For most physicians, Medicare remains the largest single source of income, and while Medicare Advantage Plans are growing in membership, they still make up only a fraction of the Medicare population. However, depending on your location, and participation in Medicare Advantage Plans, you could find yourself exempt from MIPS based on your patient mix, so it is worth a quick check of your patient revenue sources, and number of patients before expending the time to learn MIPS submissions.

Additionally, most physicians, aside from the obvious specialties like pediatricians, and potentially OB/GYNs are still subject to MIPS, so unless you want to volunteer for a cut in your Medicare payments, best to get on top of what is required, and make submissions part of your routine.

[Read more…]

By Dave Yohe, VP of Marketing, BillingTree

With a new year comes new resolutions, disruptors and trends. This will especially ring true in the payments space, which boasts one of the biggest growth markets in the world – fintech. Research estimates that global fintech solution usage is currently at 33 percent and is expected to increase to 52 percent in 2018. As the business world hangs up their calendars for 2018, Dave Yohe, VP of Marketing at BillingTree looks at five key technology developments shaking up some key markets in 2018

1. B2B Payments finally going digital
Perhaps further behind in the fintech curve than they should be are B2B payments. This is often attributed to the complex nature of B2B payments – most transactions involve multiple stakeholders, are usually attributed to POs and budgets, and are managed manually. The check still holds as the most common method of payment acceptance in US B2B payments, but only just. The Association for Financial Professionals has found that in 2004 81 percent of B2B organizations paid by check, but by 2016 this number had shrunk to 51 percent.

The US Government has already mandated that in 2018, all invoicing for business-to-government payments will be electronic-only. This is bound to have a roll-on effect into the B2B market as a whole. In 2018, expect more CFOs to begin to realize the efficiency benefits of digitizing B2B payments. [Read more…]

By Shanti Wilson, consultant, Freed Associates

 As healthcare organizations wrestle with the enormity and complexity of new risk-based payment arrangements with multiple payers, they also seek to adopt new approaches to value-based care. A typical goal is to improve the quality, consistency and cost of patient care, as well as patient experience.

Achieving systemic improvements in value-based care can be arduous, given the inherent challenges of updating or changing legacy systems, processes and cultures.

In this article, we show how it is possible to maximize and systematize your risk arrangement opportunities by pursuing a two-stage, value-based care initiative. The key is having a team approach toward governance, shared vision, accountability, flexibility and execution. [Read more…]

By Dan Brewer

Most of us know the top three questions to ask before making a significant investment: “What’s the return?” … “What are the terms?” … “What are the risks involved?” But for those of us concerned about the social impact of our investment choices, there are three more I’d recommend asking.

As an equity provider in the senior housing space, I have two responsibilities. The first responsibility is to my investors. I need to invest their money in the communities that will provide strong returns for their portfolios. The second responsibility is no less important. It is my responsibility to invest in communities that provide high-quality services—not just amenities—for senior community residents.

On the surface, many equity providers may assume they are already doing this. After all, it makes good financial sense to work with operators who have successful track records, high occupancy rates, and above-market rents—all of which are markers of solid care. But I believe as investors, we should look beyond market metrics. We can encourage certain standards of care for residents, as well.

So, how do we move senior housing from a simple opportunistic CRE investment to a true impact investment? We need to start by asking three new questions. [Read more…]